by Amy Zoethout | May 26, 2021 | Media Releases/Announcements
Residents interested in helping to preserve and shape how local history is presented for the future can now make their voice heard. By joining the Museum’s Collection Committee, interested individuals will have a say in how the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol grows, expands and diversifies the stories shared through the Museum’s unique collection.
The County of Huron invites applications for open position(s) on the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol’s Collections Committee. The positions are for volunteer community members from Huron County. The committee welcomes applicants that represent different communities, backgrounds, age groups, and cultures across Huron County, including newcomers and generational residents. Volunteer terms are for one, two, or three years with the potential of two consecutive terms.
The Huron County Museum’s collection is built from community donations from people, homes and businesses across Huron, following a collections policy and mandate.
“This is a great opportunity for those who are passionate about Huron County’s ongoing history and heritage.” said Acting Director of Cultural Services Elizabeth French-Gibson “If you love material culture, and want to engage others with the memories, stories and community ties that can be evoked so powerfully by objects from the past then this is a great opportunity for you!”
The Collections Committee presents a volunteer opportunity that is short on time-commitment, but makes a long-term impact on how our community recognizes, prioritizes and preserves history close to home.
The purpose of the Collections Committee is to advise County Council with respect to matters pertaining to the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol collection. Recommendations include review of short and long-term planning regarding collections, site policies in relation to collection development, and requirements of the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries’ Museum standards.
“When I was a child, a visit to the pioneer museum, which is what we called it then, was a confirmation that you don’t throw anything out; there was a story or use to every item,” said Collections Committee member Rhea Hamilton-Seeger, who shared what this volunteer experience has taught her. “As a member of the Collections Committee, I now get to learn more of the stories and appreciate what people collect and donate. One of the criteria for items to be in the Collection is that they relate to our [Huron County] history. While I would like to keep everything, there are some unique pieces that simply don’t relate. The staff of the Huron County Museum and this committee work hard to ensure a home is secured where these items do relate. A very interesting committee to be a part of and I have been able to share some of the stories with friends and better understand my local museum and how it teaches us, and reminds us, of our history.”
Be an active part of the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol’s mission to engage our community in preserving, sharing, and fostering Huron County culture! The time commitment for volunteering is limited to attendance at committee meetings held every third month, generally on Tuesday mornings as scheduled by the Committee.
Those interested in applying for the volunteer position of Huron County Museum Collections Committee Member can submit a written application by Monday, June 28, 2021 to:
Acting Senior Curator
Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol
110 North St., Goderich, ON, N7A 2T8
museum [@] huroncounty.ca
To learn more about the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol’s collections:
by Amy Zoethout | May 18, 2021 | Blog
Take a closer look at the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol and its collections as staff share stories about some well-known and some not-so-well-known features, artifacts, and more. In a three-part series, Registrar Patti Lamb takes a closer look at a museum’s secret codes. Read Part 2 on Collecting at the Huron County Museum and Part 3 on Deaccessioning Artifacts.
The Object Identification Number is an important part of the “secret language” used by museum professionals.
Most museum visitors are aware that the artifacts in the museum have numbers written on them. Most also know that the numbers somehow help to identify the objects. What most don’t realize, however, is what the numbers mean to the museum staff.
When museum staff look at an Object Identification Number (object ID), they can instantly tell what year the object came to the museum; if there were other objects that came in before it that particular year; whether it was part of a group of objects; and in some cases, whether or not there is a known donor. Using an object ID number to look up an object record in the museum database will show the staff everything that is known about the object. This includes physical description, donor, provenance (history), condition, use, and where in the museum the object is located.
Traditionally, museums use a three part numbering system. The first part lets staff know the year the artifact came into the museum collection; the second part indicates the group number of the artifacts that came in during a particular year; and the last number is the object number within that group. The first two parts of the number are what is known as an accession number (an object or group of objects from a single source at one time). When the third part of the number is added on, it becomes an object ID number specific to that object.
Accession and object ID numbers are an important part of the “secret language” used by museum professionals. They allow us to record and store, in one spot, important information about the artifacts as well as help track and locate them. The object ID is as important as the artifact, and without it, access to the information about the artifact would be difficult to retain and retrieve.
Object Identification Number shown on this Museum artifact.
by Amy Zoethout | May 4, 2021 | Artefacts, Collection highlights
Take a closer look at the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol and its collections as staff share stories about some well-known and some not-so-well-known features, artifacts, and more. Acting Education and Programming Coordinator Dan Genis looks at the Museum’s record collection.
Record sleeve advertising the Victor Talking Machine Company of Canada Limited, featuring the slogan “Waiting to Sing to You.” Contains an early 1920s record by Harry Lauder. 2018.0026.002b
Did you know that Huron County Museum has a record collection?
While you might assume that record collections only belong to hardcore music fans or collectors, the Huron County Museum has an impressive record collection of its own. The museum collection contains almost 200 records, largely dating from 1900-1970. Music is a vital part of a community’s culture, which makes music-related artifacts important as well.
An Edison Blue Amberol phonograph record released in 1913. This 4 minute 17 second record plays “Alice Where Art Thou?” by Ernest Pike, originally composed by Joseph Ascher. M960.0232.006a
The collection begins with phonograph cylinders, commonly called “records”. Like the one in the above picture, the cylinders were meant to be played on a phonograph. Invented by Thomas Edison in 1877, early phonographs recorded sound as small grooves on a wax (later plastic) cylinder. To play the recording, the cylinder rotated and a stylus traced over the grooves and vibrated, reproducing the original sound. While in North America any sound-reproducing “talking” machine that uses records can be called a phonograph, in the United Kingdom (UK) the term more specifically refers to machines that play cylinders.
In 1889, Emile Berliner invented a phonograph that played discs records, calling it the “Gramophone.” Although disc records had been sold as early as 1889, it was not until the 1910s that they overtook phonograph cylinders as the record format of choice. Most disc records, including the “Harry Lauder” record in the picture above, were made with shellac. In the UK “Gramophone” became the term used to describe any disc-playing talking machine, but “phonograph” and “talking-machine” continued to be used in North America. This is especially confusing in Canada where all three terms had been and continue to be used interchangeably.
The “Concert Grand” talking machine (or gramophone), manufactured at the Gunn-Son-ola Talking Machine Co. in Wingham, Ontario. The gramophone was purchased by Lily and George McClenaghan and was always in their home at Whitechurch. 2018.0026.001a
The Gunn-Son-ola Talking Machine Company was founded in Wingham by Michigan manufacturer William Gunn in 1920. Gunn had purchased the Walker and Clegg furniture factory located on Alfred Street. Gun-son-ola churned out talking machines and cabinets for over ten years, at its peak employing 162 people. The company went bankrupt in 1931 and was taken over by Brown Bros. Manufacturing, which reverted the factory back into the manufacturing of general furniture products.
In the 1940s Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) began replacing shellac in the manufacturing of records. These new “vinyl” records were more flexible and less likely to break, which also allowed for smaller grooves (“microgrooves”) which could store more music.
By the time “The Best of Vera Lynn” was released in 1968, vinyl records were the most popular way of listening to recorded music. In the early 1980s cassette tapes had replaced vinyl in popularity, only to be itself replaced by the compact disk (CD) in the 1990s.There has been a vinyl record revival in recent years, with vinyl sales in 2020 surpassing CD sales in the US for the first time since 1986.
To check out more of the Huron County Museum’s record collection, head over to our online collections database at: https://huroncountymuseum.pastperfectonline.com/
A drawing of the Gunn-son-ola factory in Wingham, which primarily made talking-machines and radio cabinets. By 1935 it was owned by the Brown Bros. Company. The Wingham Advance Times 1935-05-16
by Amy Zoethout | Apr 7, 2021 | Archives, Blog
Take a closer look at the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol and its collections as staff share stories about some well-known and some not-so-well-known features, artifacts, and more. Archivist Michael Molnar looks at the Land Registry Copy Books available through the Huron County Museum’s Archives that can help with family research.
Did you know that the Huron County Museum has Land Registry Copy Books for the County of Huron?
Land Registry Copy Books contain historical (1835 – 1950s) information about the transactions of real property (specifically the ownership of land). These recorded transactions can be one way of confirming the existence of your ancestors in Huron County – confirming is a very important and rewarding step when conducting family research.
These historical Land Registry Copy Books are housed in the archival stacks at the Huron County Museum and can be accessed by appointment with the Archivist. While the Museum is temporarily closed to the public, learn more about the Archives’ new virtual research services here: https://www.huroncountymuseum.ca/huron-county-archives/
You can find information in the Land Registry Copy Books about your ancestors if you know a lot and concession number (rural) or a lot number (urban). You can access an historical map of Huron County with names and lot and concession numbers here: https://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/huron.htm. This map can be a great starting point.
The Land Registry Copy Books housed at the Huron County Museum include information for the following communities:
Former Townships of Huron County: Ashfield, Colborne, East Wawanosh, Goderich, Grey, Hay, Howick, Hullett, McKillop, Morris, Stanley, Stephen, Tuckersmith, Turnberry, Usborne, and West Wawanosh.
Towns and Villages: Bayfield, Bluevale, Blyth, Cranbrook, Crediton, Dashwood, Dungannon, Ethel, Exeter, Fordwich, Goderich, Hensall, Kinburn, Lakelet, Lucknow, Manchester (Auburn), Nile, Port Albert, Seaforth, St. Joseph, Summerhill, Varna, Walton, Wroxeter and Zurich (not an exhaustive list).
You can access online historical land registry information for properties in Ontario through OnLand: https://help.onland.ca/en/what-is-onland/
by Amy Zoethout | Mar 29, 2021 | Media Releases/Announcements
Don’t miss out on seeing Reflections: The Life and Work of J.W. (Jack) McLaren, on at the Huron County Museum until April 30, 2021.
Praised by visitors as an “amazing show” featuring “spectacular” art and an “interesting slice of Huron County and beyond”, Reflections has drawn repeat visitors since opening at the Museum in October, 2020. The exhibit explores McLaren’s prolific career as an artist, illustrator, and performer, and features close to 100 pieces of his art on loan from the community.
Presented in partnership with the Huron County Historical Society, Reflections not only shares an incredible local collection of art, but also looks back on McLaren’s fascinating life, including his time in World War I where he performed as a member of the Dumbells Comedy Troupe, and his membership in the Toronto Arts and Letters Club where he became associated with the Group of Seven.
For those unable to visit the exhibit in person, the Huron County Museum will be hosting Jack McLaren: A Soldier of Song, a virtual event that can be enjoyed from home on April 9, 2021.
This event will feature a presentation and performance by Jason Wilson, musician and author of Soldiers of Song: The Dumbells and Other Canadian Concert Parties. Wilson’s performance is based on the original works of the Dumbells, a Canadian concert party that entertained the troops on the front lines in World War I and featured Jack McLaren.
To register for this event, or to explore more ways to enjoy the Reflections exhibit from home, visit: https://www.huroncountymuseum.ca/reflections/
The public is invited to book a visit to catch the exhibit by calling 519.524.2686. The museum is open from 10:00AM-4:30PM on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10:00AM-8:00PM on Thursday, and 1:00PM-4:30PM on Saturday. Reflections is included with regular admission, or free for museum members and Huron County Library cardholders.
